Powergen customers under the cosh as energy bills rise again |
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Wed, 31 Aug 2005 14:05
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LONDON - Six million consumers who depend on Powergen for their gas and electricity supplies are now facing bigger bills from today as the supplier is set to effect an increase in the same.
Powergen has opted to raise electricity billing by seven percent and the gas billing by 12 percent. The company said that the rise in the bills was forced since energy prices on the international market have hit the roof. The announcement regarding the increase was made in July and adds £52 a year to an average fuel bill for the consumer. This is the fourth time in less than 17 months that Powergen is passing on the bills to its customers. It also happens to be the third rise in electricity prices since January last year.
The cost of fuel has risen steadily and is showing no signs of abating with oil prices breaking the $60 a barrel barrier and currently standing at $66 a barrel. This is a 50 percent increase in the last twelve months alone. And since the price of oil is intimately linked with that of gas imported from the continent, it has become costlier to generate electricity in the country's gas-fired power stations. And Powergen is not the only company to pass on the costs to the consumer, EDF Energy (London Energy, SWEB and Seeboard on the markets) has also effected increases in its billing for the fourth time this year. Five million customers use EDF Energy to meet their requirements.
Even Centrica-owned British Gas has been forced to up its bills and has warned of a further 15 percent rise though a spokesman said that no definite decision had been taken as of now. Consumer organization Energywatch has expressed reservations about soaring bills saying that over the last 18 months, household energy bills have jumped by 20 percent. Energywatch spokesman Graham Kerr commented, "Oil producers and energy retailers are all doing very well - at the expense of the consumer."
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